The Iron Fist Clenches
The Iron Fist Clenches, Act 1 Prolouge “The world is one unending chess match, my dear, and I am the one playing it how I please. I poke and prod to move my pieces to places I find desirable. And the defiant ones who resist me I simply remove from the board. But you are not of this chess match at all. You walked unexpectedly onto my board, scattering my pieces out of the way, the ones that I had worked on so tirelessly to arrange to perfection.” ''-J.S Bailey, 'The Land Beyond the Portal' ---- Desolation. Bright blue skies dominated the atmosphere, with large white clouds slowly moving in bliss along with it. The earth itself, however, was far less visually appealing. Blackened ashes dominated the ground, the ruins of buildings scattered and dotted the wasteland, and in some places, the burned and aged bones and skeletons of humans were found, all positioned as if they were once doing part of their old daily lives. Some were inside the ruins of cars, while others remained seated in the burned, destroyed ruins of an old diner. Others could be described with one's imagination. From beyond this, however, one could see in the distance what would appear to be a massive white wall that seemed to stretch in both directions endlessly. 'Narrator: "Earth...A desolate wasteland, once called a paradise by the naive, a living hell by the wise. Ever since his inception, Man has always done what he could to exceed his grasp, bite off more than he really could handle from that which he was offered. With his dominance over the world, countless suffered and countless prospered. It was a system of chance, a life dictated by cheats, liars, and corruption, a world that needed change. Change, that was delivered by the Quincy..." Beyond this massive wall, of which could be seen as nearly 17 stories tall, would be the opposite of what lie outside. It was a massive city that seemed to stretch beyond that which the eye could see. Massive buildings and highways dominated the first parts of what one could see, while smaller, and yet still large buildings dotted the lower parts endlessly. Cars seemed to go along the roads endlessly, making it feel as if the city was more than alive, and always moving. '''Narrator: ''"Almost one-hundred years ago, we emerged from this world's shadow, and took it by force. We eliminated the source of our evils; ranks, diversities, freedoms, whatever needed to be purged in order to cease the chaos that would ensue otherwise. The pitiful forces'' of their world, desperate to defend their rotted stick in the ground, stood no chance against the might of our armies, nor were they spared any quarter. Within just a few months, this world came under our control." The streets of this city were littered with people dressed in various forms of casual attire, all appearing as normal individuals just going with their day to day lives. However, at plenty of points on the sidewalks were taller individuals, dressed in white military uniforms, military caps and boots, along with gas masks that covered their faces and holding what appeared to be white assault rifles. The citizens all tended to avoid being around these military garbed individuals, knowing that they were the symbols of authority in this realm. Narrator: ''"Now, all of the suffering, chaos, and strife that plagued this world is gone, eradicated, and replaced with a world that remains perfectly in order. No longer do corrupt men stand in front of cameras, lying to the populace for the sake of credibility. No more do riots erupt from peaceful parts of the earth when selfish individuals do not have their way. No more do children sit on the sides of the street, begging for what should be given to them by right. Now, we all live in a world...where all men are equal."'' ---- This seemingly peaceful daily routine would find itself broken very quickly. Speeding along one of the highway bridges was a large, light blue van that flew down the road, passing cars at dangerously close distances, and even bumping some of them off of the road into other cars. Driving this van was a man appearing to be in his early to mid thirties, with dark skin and long dreadlocks. In the passenger's seat was another individual, and both of them appeared to be incredibly nervous. In the back of the van was a middle aged, balding man who had both hands on a large steel container of sorts, seemingly trying to keep it from falling over. "Dammit!" the driver yelled to the man in the back angrily, briefly glancing back at him before turning back to the road. "Man, I told you not to use that radio! I told you they would track us with that thing!!" "What was I supposed to do??!!" the man in the back yelled to the driver in an equally frustrated voice. "Those guards were all over us! I got nervous alright!?" "Damned fool!" the driver cursed, looking at all of the mirrors he could, seeing two white motorcycles with the masked troopers seen on the streets driving them in hot pursuit of the vehicle. "We're dead, so fucking dead man!!" the driver continued to say aloud in desperate fear and frustration, knowing that shaking these authorities would be no easy task. "What...were...you...doing!?" The passenger in the front growled, slamming his fist with his hand. "Alright, this is the plan. We move at maximum speed, and attempt to find a cave of some sort to deter them from finding us, got it? We can't let this become any bigger of a deal than it already is, otherwise we'll be caught by...him..." The man begun to be frightened, and visibly started to shake. The mention of a certain someone was enough to cause even a gruff man like this to become timid. "Don't even say it!" the driver said to him, shaking his head and exhaling deeply. "Find a cave somewheres...man where the hell are we gonna find a cave in a city!?" he argued, waving his hand up briefly to dismiss the man's plan, almost as if the sheer thought of that someone threw him off topic. The first Soldat trooper tailing the van at high speeds held no expressions due to his mask, nor did his pose indicate any form of stress or anticipation. Like a machine, he attended to his duty to it's upmost capacity. Placing his left hand up on the left of his gas mask like helmet, he spoke into what would be assumed to be an earpiece, speaking in a masked voice. "Control, this is Officer DC-1 of Unit 32. I have eyes on perpetrators from last nights break in at Stahl Industries. Officer DC-4 and I are both in pursuit. Please advise, over." "Copy that DC-1. Stand by." the feminine radio Control personel replied, before directing her words to the other Officer, known as Davis. "DC-4, what is your status, over?" "Currently engaged in the pursuit of the perpetrators. They appear to have carelessly left their radio on, should I intercept their signals?" DC-4 responded, while the radio Control personnel replied, "Do so, DC-4. Find out their affiliations and immediately report to me, DC-1, continue tailing the perpetrators while DC-4 intercepts the signals." "Understood, resuming pursuit." the Soldat officer replied as he pressured the gas on his bike, making it speed up to where he was getting closer to the van, but not enough to disrupt his comrade's movements. "Fuck it! We gotta get them off of us!" the driver said, pulling what appeared to be an MP-5 out of the large console of the van between him and the other passenger and tossed it to the back passenger. The latter of whom quickly cocked the hammer of the weapon and reached out of the side window to his left. "Motherfuckers~!!!!!!!!" the man yelled as he discharged countless bullets from the gun at the DC-1 officer. The officer didn't clumsily try to avoid the rounds as normal individuals should. Instead, he sheilded his face with his right arm, using his left to control his bike while the bullets all either slammed into the ground around him, or actually hit his arm and he demonstrated no signs of pain, almost as if some form of shielding in his body kept him safe. "Control, shots have been fired, the suspects are armed. Repeat, suspects are armed. Permission to engage." he spoke into his earpiece with no change in his tone, shrugging off the fact that he'd just been shot at. "Stand by, DC-1." ''the control operator spoke before turning her words to the Officer's partner. ''"DC-4, have you intercepted their radio feed yet?" "And I'm done. DC-1, they're headed towards the end of the bridge, and are attempting to evade us through the crowd. Do we have permission to intercept?" DC-4 asked, quickly wanting a response. "Permission granted. DC-1 and DC-4, immediately apprehend the offenders and retrieve the item safely, '''without' any innocents harmed. Understood?" "Affirmative. Moving to engage." DC-1 replied, his bike now speeding up to where he was quickly going past the van. If he was ordered to do this without civilian casualties, and to get their item safely, there was only one option that he knew to take. Now, after getting at least a kilometer in front of the van, he pressed a button on the side of his bike. On it's small monitor between both of the steering handles, the worlds AUTO PILOT: ENGAGE was seen. Taking his hands off of the handles, the bike was practically steering itself, but after a few feet of driving further, the bike slowed down and he got off of it as it pulled to a stop. The van was now heading for him as he got off of the vehicle. "What the..." the driver of the van said lowly as he saw what the Soldat was doing. "What the fuck is he trying to do...?" But as he got closer and closer, he realized that he had no other choice but to run the man over. It was either that, or he would do the crazy thing and try to drive off of the railing of the highway and down to the city, crashing onto a building, or attempt to swerve around him and into oncoming traffic. ''"I'll just hit him then..." ''the driver thought to himself, squinting his eyes in focus. ''"It's just one guy. What could he-" CRASH!! But by the time he could even think of finishing his inner thoughts, the Soldat quickly slammed the bottom of his Blut Arterie-enhanced foot into the front of the van, smashing it's front part and engines to pieces and forcing the front two passengers to slam forward into the glass, not killing them, but certainly giving them a whirling daze. The van tipped forward some as a result of the collision, but then slammed back onto the ground as usual. The item inside only having tipped over to it's side with no damage done. By this time, DC-4 will have arrived to assist. DC-1 moved around to the front of the van and ripped the door off of it's hinges, dragging the dazed driver out and throwing him onto the ground. Traffic behind them had stopped due to this encounter. "Control, the vehicle is immobilized. Suspects are dazed but alive, and the item appears to be in tact." he said calmly as he moved around to the other side of the van and dragged the other passenger out, pulling him on the ground and tossing him next to his driving partner. "Copy that DC-1." ''the controller replied. ''"DC-4, do you have confirmation of the item's status?" "The item is secure, and undamaged. It can be returned promptly." DC-4 responded, as he picked up the item and secured it. "Shall we do so now?" "Yes, you may do so, and then return to your duties and positions immediately." She ordered the two, as they headed towards their respective destinations. DC-4 returning the item to Stahl Industries, while DC-1 kept the criminals under apprehension. By that time, DC-1 had all three criminals handcuffed, weapons were confiscated, as well as any and all handheld devices, and they were all pinned to the side of the van. "DC-1 to control, all three suspects have been apprehended..." the officer began speaking into his earpiece as the three van occupants lost track of his words as they talked amongst themselves, all worried about what might happen to them. Crime in this city was heavily punishable, and the fact that they were caught stealing a piece of military hardware... "...understood." the officer finished, walking back to the criminals. "You all stand guilty of commiting theft of military grade hardware, refusal to cooperate with authorities, and the attempted murder of a Sector Patrolmen." He pulled out his sidearm, causing all three criminals to gasp and quiver briefly. "...Your sentance, is death." And with three shots, the criminals were all dead where they were sat. The officer then sheathed his weapon, and tapped into his comms once again. "Suspects have been terminated. Get a disposal unit to my current GPS ASAP." he said calmly as he went to his parked bike and cranked it back up. "Resuming standard patrols." The blood of the three criminals slowly etched onto the roads for all of the parked civilians to see. Left in the middle of a populated highway, these men and their vehicle, or what's left of it, served as examples to those who opposed their order. As a clean up dumpster truck arrived to clean the mess, others simply realized that this was all in a days work. This was the world they lived in. Newfound Objectives, Where do we stand? Within the echoes of three executive gun shots in the distance, Yashin knew it was just one happenstance of many that occured within Mega City 1, also known as Yamato City. One of the only metropolitan centers of immense population and extended urban cityscape, what surrounded the outlying towering walls was only ruin and death, continually shut out and ignored, as if it was normal to live within a decaying society of human control. Visually adapted into a more acceptable look as one of the commoners of the Quincy controlled populace, Yashin's stride smoothly projected a pair of white slacks with black stripe borders on each side, along with a white dress suit with a black tie and sporting a pair of teacher spectacles. While maybe seen as old fashioned, it bore respect and intelligence, something that many wouldn't think twice to be the face of a known criminal who hid his face from the law. Even his face was adapted to have no iconic markings, with a slightly more angular jaw structure, bright emerald eyes, and a crop of familiar hair in a black tinge. Adjusting his spectacles, causing a refraction of light to occur, Yashin turned to account for his current partner "in crime" walking next to him. He smiled in a knowing way, as he looked on ahead, keeping his left hand pocketed casually while the other hung free. "This place looks no different than Mega City 3, does it?" Yashin asked aloud, with a dry sense of humor as he looked around in detestment, "a metropolitan marvel the size of a small country walls itself away from the death and anguish they abused upon the world in order to achieve its precious Empire. The Vandenreich certainly know how to ruin perfectly good scenery with drab grey, black, and white colors surrounding it." In the meantime; the man next to Yashin clad an attire of a simpleton. Because he wasn't very well known; he simply acted as Yashin's "servant", much to his chagrin. Clad in appropriate clothing, he wore a white dress shirt, black dress pants, shoes and a blazer over the top of this. "I have to agree with you there. These guys really don't know the meaning of color, do they?" The man was known as Hōkei Yōkūjō; a powerful mage, cybernetically-enhanced through various experiments, and along with a descendant of Kitsune in his ancestry, made him a renowned criminal throughout the mega cities as he continued to interrupt in the Vandenreich's plans with his partner. "Oh wait; they do know one color. That of red. Blood red to be precise. They let it flow outside of the body as if it were normal, blotching these white walls with irreplaceable stains." His voice was temporarily solemn, but then cheered up. "Well anyways, don't we have some chaos to wreck about this place? What are we going to do first, "master"?" Chuckling, Yashin sported a thin smile with a narrowed gaze of sheepishness as he turned to raise his hands in an effort to appease his partner, "Now now...I know this isn't the most glamorous getup we've arranged before, but its better than imitating anything we've already done before. As to what we're going to do today," tapping his chin, Yashin looked thoughtful as he re-pocketed his left hand, as if he hadn't thought it through before, "well. There was a shipment of new parts heading to the Spirit Energy Conductor towers for the city I wanted to...arrange... differently, so that a few select dangerous neighborhoods would have less ambient Spirit Energy for Soldat Patrols to use when they are being gunned down by angry townspeople and gangs alike. But...I have a stop to make," making a gesture to his getup, smiling in a knowing way, "hence my particular choice of attire." "A stop to make?" Hōkei pondered, as he scratched his head. "Don't tell me I'll have to act all formal and stiff? Otherwise I'm probably going to suffocate and collapse." Hōkei groaned, but then grinned at the prospect of intercepting Vandenreich operations. "Will we be doing anything flashy? Because if it isn't, I'd much rather just sit down and let you do the work, as I normally do of course." Hōkei said, rather lazily as he made a slight chuckle. "I sensed a...familiar...and somehow unusually potent Spiritual signature upon entering into the city," Yashin answered honestly, brushing his hand through his hair as he looked onwards, "I need to investigate, and make sure it isn't a fluke or some third party trying to start trouble. The only trouble I'll tolerate, is our kind of trouble." Looking over at Hōkei with a smile, he reached out with his right hand to make a finger pistol impression, winking at him in emphasis, "You on the other hand can go hit that shipment I just mentioned. I already pre-ordered packages to be at our current safehouse, and you should be able to switch around those parts and destroy the good ones. Its pretty simple: Go and kick ass, replace some parts, and jump ship visibly enough to show that you're bailing out due to the show of force they're making. They'll think that they stopped a highjacking or destruction of their valuable Spirit Energy Conductor parts, and they won't know why a week from now Soldat bodies will be piling up on the side of their designated patrol routes. Sound good to you?" "Eh? I have to do all that in this attire? Pfft, you're going to be needing repair fees after this, Yashin." Hōkei muttered, as he leaped into the air. "Well, I'm off! Have fun with your random meeting with...whoever you said it was~" Hōkei immediately moved onto his next destination, grinning as he did so. ---- Hōkei soon reached the storehouse where Yashin advised the package would be. He wasn't wrong either; delivery guys soon came around to store the parcels that were with them. Of course, the area was, as usual, guarded by countless Soldat, so he had to be quite careful. Making sure that the Soldat knew exactly what they were; Hōkei allowed them to be transported within the storehouse, before isolating himself in the storehouse. Right now he disguised himself as the benefactor of an elite family in Yamato City, and even as a servant, he had a few rights of privacy from the Soldat. And so, he quickly unveiled the bad stock of parts, and replaced them with the good ones in a large truck within the storehouse. "And now, I make a mess of things, right?" Hōkei smiled devilishly. He got into the truck and quickly smashed through the storehouse, causing the surrounding Soldat to become worried and immediately drew their attention. Little did they know that on the inside, their parts were burning. However; causing a facade of desperation, he panted, "The parts...they were faulty, and caused a fire...I barely escaped from it. However; I think some of the good ones were also in there...you'll have to go check!" Hōkei drove off as the Soldat Units immediately called emergency services to dispatch with the threat. In the meantime, Hōkei was returning to base, with a several resources which would gladly assist them in their renegade efforts. "Take that, suckers!" Hōkei thought, as he discreetly flipped the bird to the Soldat Units while they weren't looking. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Yashin could only smile pleasantly as he walked into the outlying perimeter of a large block-by-block shaped school. Impressive, to say the least, the windows had were non-obscurred by any form of tinting but instead allowed the Sun to shine brilliantly through. The surrounding area was large enough to withhold a couple of sports fields and vivid emerald blades of grass, seen to be well maintained. While no one was outside at the moment, he could tell from the time from a brief flick of his wrist watch, that it was almost time for the noon bell. As he entered the building, a brief wave of foreign nostalgia hit him. He could almost remember the world used to exist within normal schools and 20th Century suburban paradise beyond its glass doorways. He heard the laughter of children as they raced each other across the halls to the cafeteria, anxious to get the first pick of desserts and seating. With the average bully here and there, targeting the obviously shy and awkward student, before being rescued by the noble hearted hero of the school. Shaking his head from the unintentional reverie, Yashin looked over and saw a sign dictating the direction to the Principal's Office. Taking a few strides there, he opened the door while simultaneously knocking on it, presenting a polite smile as he spoke, "Principal Tazahana? My name is Kakashi Hatake, the Substitute Teacher you requested?" Another Day Rolls By, Is this Normal? "zzzzz...." Within one of the classrooms on the upper floor of that school, several teenagers, in their 15-16 range all sitting at their desks, talking and chatting with each other as they always did. Oddly, only a few of them wore appropriate school uniforms, while others wore casual attire that wasn't inappropriate, but nothing formal either. One such teenager was asleep on his desk, his arms folded across the table and his hood-draped head buried inside of them. Oblivious to his outside world, it seemed like he had not a care nor worry for what happened on the outside. All he cared for was his short nap... Another teenager, one two years younger than the one to his right, glared flatly and with an annoyed expression. He wore a more upstanding and official uniform closer to school code. His face drew into an irritated fashion as he was totally aware that class was about to start within the next five minutes, and he didn't care if it was Lunch a few minutes ago. "Mikado-san," Sora spoke aloud within an annoyed tone, pouting his lips in emphasis of him, "are you dead, or did you trade your mind for the hibernative instincts of a grizzly...you fell asleep within five seconds of hitting the desk. Wake up!" Mikado simply groaned lightly, adjusting himself a little bit without awakening from his sleep. However, he did tilt his head up to where his right eye was half opened and looking right at Sora. "No." he said briefly before closing the eye and slumping back down to sleep once again. "If you're asleep when the Mr. Kaname gets here, I'm going to stop tutoring you for a week," Sora said matter-of-factly, not sounding like he was negotiating. In fact, if it wasn't for Sora, Mikado would end up being a D ranked student at best, if not failing. With no guidance, Sora could see Mikado flopping his tests within this week, and it was the week before Midterms. "I'm awake. I'm just letting my eyes rest is all..." Mikado replied back in that muffled tone of his, still inside of his arms and seemingly asleep to the ones outside of the conversation. "...My eyes don't like the lights in this room, so quit being so tight about it." "Well, I don't want to see you get marked for detention like the last time you were resting your eyes," Sora quoted with his hands for emphasis, huffing as he leaned back in his seat with finality, crossing his arms over his chest in silent admittance of boredom, "I don't want you to waste what you got cause you don't feel like cutting it..." "Why so nervous?" Mikado then rested his head on his arms, rather than in them, letting part of his hooded face be seen as he looked over at his classmate with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, I know mid-terms are next week and all, but you're not usually this ''nervous over something like that." "You're a junior this year. That means the semester after this one will mark only one year left until you move out of school," Sora spoke a little down-toned, his eyes looked down as he leaned further down onto his desk's chair, pouting his lips as he sighed, "I'll only be a sophmore by the time you're ready to graduate. ''If ''you graduate anyways..." "Sucks to be you, eh?" Mikado sighed, going back into his arms once again after rolling his eyes. "Those kinds of attitudes kill my drive in the day time. Try to be happy about it at least. With me gone, you won't have an extra pile of work to keep up with." he joked. "Its not like its much work to do. Tutoring you, however, is a lot harder than filing off what homework you slacked off doing," Sora waved his hand dismissively, but held a smirk on his face, showing it was all jocular in nature, "I have just been doing a lot of thinking lately. Just contemplating my thoughts for the future is all, nothing to worry about..." "If you say so." Mikado replied, now sitting up fully in his seat after realizing that attempting to sleep here wouldn't do him any good. "I just want out of this place. Life after the school will be hard enough. It's not like we need to make it any harder or anything." "I don't recall you ever doing chores or working a job outside of school, ''lazy-ass," Sora pouted his lips as he dryly commented towards Mikado, sitting straight up as he looked at the clock. What was strange however, is that their punctual teacher Mr. Kaname, was running a few minutes late, "huh...that's odd. Mister Kaname is late." "Well, that's good to know." Mikado said upon hearing the sentance, before putting his head back into his arms to sleep. "Now I can nap just a wee bit longer...." "Don't you find it strange that he's-" C-CLICK! Just then, the classroom quieted down immediately, knowing how their teacher dealt with slacking off and noise when not told to. As all eyes with the exception of Mikado's drew to the door, however, they would find themselves completely shocked as someone else opened the door. With a hand around a brown briefcase and manilla folder tucked under the same arm, a black haired and spectacle-donned man walked into the classroom. "Hello class! I'm sorry about my tardiness, but I'm your Substitute Teacher for today, as Mr. Kaname has been taken down by the smog flu," the man explained with the name tag Kakashi Hatake imprinted upon his upper left pocket in brass and black colors, as he explained himself in route to the front of the classroom, "I am Kakashi Hatake. I'm actually a friend of your Principal, and he asked me to come down from the college to help you guys out on the principles of Spirit Particle displacement, and the uses it can have within the human body. This will be a little off your usual curriculum, but I'm pretty sure you'll benefit from such a subject for just one day. As such, there will be only a pop quiz before the end of class to mark your attentiveness and memorization of what you learned, rather than your understanding of the subject at hand," he finished aloud, hearing a few confused murmurs and glances at his way. Raising his hand, he smiled in a reassuring manner as he set his briefcase down next to his desk near the chalkboard, "there won't be any testing or homework given to you after this class. Your class with Mr. Kaname will resume as normal within the day after tomorrow." "Cool!" Sora spoke aloud in a beaming tone, but made sure to keep himself low on his enthusiastic volume. With a bright smile on his face, he felt like he could truly project what kind of intelligence he really had, as well as upon a subject more interesting than simple chemistry. "Oh god...just what I needed." ''Mikado thought to himself as he sighed lowly, lifting his still hooded head up from the desk and leaning back in his seat. Anyone who knew Mikado also knew that he was never a fan of enthusiastic substitute teachers, given how he often detested them so much that he would pull pranks on them just to attempt to diminish their excitement. But, he knew now that this wasn't the time. Maybe this Kakashi Hatake would be different from the others, or maybe he'd find some way to brighten his day... "Okay, first off, I'll like to have a volunteer for an experiment before we get into the subject at hand!" Kakashi spoke aloud, clapping hands together and rubbing them as a slightly creepy glare came off his glasses, shining within a projection that made most of the classroom shudder with fear. "Oh, Oh, Oh!" Sora, feeling himself get really into the rythym of this new exciting teacher, raised his hand up and stood almost ontop of his chair. Kakashi cupped his chin, teasingly looking around the class for anyone else who may be inquiring. Ironically, the only person who looked so bored, you'd think he was about to die, was sitting next to the child-like student practically leaping off his seat. "Interesting...they must be friends if they have such opposing personalities," Kakashi noted mentally, as he pointed at the young man with a smile on his own face, "you there, young man! What is your name?" "Nagasato. Sora Nagasato, Mr. Hatake!" Sora spoke with a reserved, polite tone, calming himself down to not make anymore of a fool than he already had. "Please come up front, Sora! I got some cool tech to start our discussion off," Kakashi spoke aloud, waving a beckoning hand towards Sora to have him come up front as he reached into his briefcase to extract what he was speaking of. ''"Kiss ass...." ''Mikado scoffed under his breath. Seikō was already intrigued. The fact that this man gave off such a strange visage, along with the Spirit Particle displacement class was astonishing. Even more, however, was Sora's sheer willingness to participate! She had never seen such enthusiasm on his face before. "''This man...Kakashi Hatake...who is he? Perhaps I should participate a little bit and find out..." Seikō thought, keeping a close eye on the tech that this Kakashi Hatake would bring out. When Sora reached the desk, Kakashi pulled out what looked like to be a simple black glove. Upon its palm were a number of intricate silver-colored lines that would outline the palm and digits, while capable of being comfortable for whomever what size the wearer had. Giving the glove to Sora, Kakashi smiled as he said, "Put it on," before beginning his demonstration. "Now, as you all know, in every Mega City around the world, we have a potent and nigh unlimited amount of what is called Spirit Energy, the life force all things and the energy that powers this city, the military, and any form of entertainment you have in your possession. Because of this atmospheric sustenant power source, even those untrained in the use of Spirit Energy can compromise in the object of Spirit Energy Displacement," with a final heave, Kakashi pulled out what looked to be an anvil that looked a lot heavier than what Kakashi led to believe when carrying his briefcase in. In fact, it read 250lbs, directly upon its front surface. Setting it upon the floor, Kakashi gestured to the wide-eyed Sora at the unusual weighted item, and spoke aloud, "Sora, will you do the honors and turn on your glove?" "O-Oh! Right!" Sora shook his face out of reverie, tapping the glove and causing it to glow, wrapping around his hand like a second skin as a nigh invisible energy flow began to enrapture around the glove and pulse with life. Due to the ever-present source of Spirit Energy within Mega Cities, most if not all of the students in class would be able to see the energy hum and feel its pressure build up within the classroom. Kakashi then turned to the classroom while the glove began revving up, placing his hands behind his back as he paced, "Now class, can anyone think of a phenomena when Spirit Energy might be employed in the human body as a practical method in day-to-day life?" "Climb the stairs?" one student answered. "And?" "Power your car?" another one said afterwords. "And?" Mikado didn't say anything, of course. He wasn't one for answering questions during a class, though he was finding it a bit curious as to why this Kakashi was talking about something that they normally didn't touch on... "What about heightening your physical abilities, Hatake-Sensei?" Seikō suggested, not wanting to sound too good at the subject. However; it was a simple enough proposition, of course. "Bingo!" Kakashi said with a pointed gesture towards the young lady, as he briefly narrowed his eyes as he kept his face enthusiastic. He could tell that she had latent Spiritual Pressure, perspirating higher than most of the students around her. He would observe her further as the class would go on... "Sora!" "Yes sir!" "Go ahead and pick up that Anvil, if you would," Kakashi pointed to the Anvil in question, which had somehow changed its surface from 250lbs to 500lbs without anyone noticing. After blinking in perplexion, reached out with trepidation as he grasped the decievingly heavy object by the top handle. And once he gripped it, he found that it was surprisingly light to the touch. In fact, when he lifted it, he found that he could lift it almost over his head with little to no effort, his own eyes blinking with flabbergastment, "W-Whoa!" "Thanks to the Arts anyone can learn within the Quincy Academy, and technology available to the common man, the bolstering of physical attributes is no problem for the Spirit Particle Absorbtion Glove, a last generation tool we used to use before more high tech was introduced to the public," Kakashi explained, as he retrieved another glove from his pocket, putting it on while pulling down his sleeve, turning it on while displaying glowing veins protruding from his skin, "S.P.A.G. enhances a human's spiritual network passively, allowing a normal person with average physical health to punch through concrete or run the distance in a fraction of the time an Olympic runner could with little to no effort. But, if this tool isn't used properly, what would happen to the physical body if too much spirit energy was displaced," Kakashi spoke aloud, before his voice raised an octave as he pointedly spoke to Mikado, "young man with the enthusiastic look on your face?!" "That's me." Mikado lazily raised his hand up and spoke in a casual voice, letting his hand fall back onto the desk before he spoke in a tone that would imply he didn't care one way or the other. "I'm guessing the stuff blows up in your face?" he said as an answering the question. "Wouldn't it simply cause the muscles in the body to break down due to strain? I mean, if you think about it, if you're not accustomed to spiritual power, your body would obviously react in...adverse ways, no?" Seikō suggested, knowing her attempt at hiding information was going horribly. She just hoped this man wasn't a member of the Vandenreich... "Correct on both accounts," Kakashi spoke aloud, turning his glove off in emphasis of the extremity of danger of what he is about to discuss, unwrapping the glove off his hand one finger at a time as he spoke with a downwards gaze, "you see, the human body, for all intents and purposes, is a Material-based object. Spirit Energy is considered a Transcendant Force. If you mix these two together, the Material-based object will be broken down because of the strain that the object in question was designed couldn't handle. So...how does one break these barriers? Has society shown any way to break the boundaries of what normal humans should be able to handle, in any fashion other than harnessing Spirit Energy into technology like I've shown you?" Mikado didn't answer once again, going with a more "speak if spoken to" ideal. "Oi, Mikado! Answer something! You know very Hatake-Sensei is referring to you!" Seikō was getting rather irritated with Mikado's behavior. But she kept her composure, "That being said, I'm not answering any more questions." "Oh, so its Mikado, is it?" Kakashi said with hidden amusement, as he looked over to Mikado with a keen stare. As he observed him, he felt something was...unique...set apart, from the rest of the class. Despite his nonchalant and uncaring disposition, he felt that the boy was hiding some form of conviction, or holding a bit more enthusiasm for an entirely different subject or ordeal he would find more interesting. Wanting to pressure his student, Kakashi finished removing his glove and placed his hands behind his back, "Alright, Mikado, I see you're the kind of student who likes ultimatums. Here's mine to you: Unless you don't to recieve a specially difficult test over the dynamics of the two main spiritual systems within the human body and write a two page essay to hand to Mr. Kaname why you didn't have this much enthusiasm in class, I want you to really think about how to answer the question I just asked aloud: How has humanity broke the rules set down by nature to go beyond the limits of what Material Entities should be capable, and what practical means do they employ it today?" "Ouch! That's not going to end well for Mikado," Sora thought as he kept holding onto the Anvil, visibly tensing up as he realized that Mikado wasn't called upon most of the year due to his lack of interest in any subject, and how often he'd half-ass his answers. He never heard a teacher threaten him with something so...impressive...while trying to just get a honestly thought-out answer from a student. Mikado looked over at Seiko slowly, briefly staring at her with no visible expression. "I'm sorry, who are you again?" he asked her in a sarcastic tone. But then he heard Kakashi direct his attention towards him, and he knew here that it'd be likely that he was going to get in trouble for not paying attention earlier. But, like always, he only cared in a minor sense. Looking over at Kakashi, he removed his hood to reveal messy, solid white hair, something that no one else in the class possessed. "I'm terribly sorry, Mr Substitute-whatever your last name was," he began, intentionally feigning an enthusiastic voice. "but i'm afraid I don't know how to answer that question. As you can probably tell, we've all been studying chemistry and other science stuff, instead of the things that the 5-0 use to keep everyone in check. With that being said..." His smirk fainted into a regular frown. "I doubt anyone here who isn't ''a Quincy would know how to explain something like that in a sensible way." Seikō was dumbstruck, not because Mikado didn't remember her name, but because he was so ''stupid. "Oi!" Seikō exclaimed, hitting the white-haired head. "You do realize there are more than just Quincy who can use Spiritual Energy. Have you forgotten everything about the world we live in, or something?" Facepalming, Sora set down the Anvil as he felt like walking over and slapping Mikado. Was tutoring all a big waste of time, or did Mikado act as stupid as he looked?! He felt embarassed in a way, as a good few students knew that Sora himself was intelligent beyond what most of them were capable of and that he helped Mikado with homework and such a lot. The fact he showed such poor intelligence and a case of smartassery showed just how impatient and blunt Mikado really was. "You just lost a week of tutoring, Mikado Ryūgamine," Sora glared at Mikado from across the classroom. "The young lady is correct," Kakashi spoke aloud, gesturing to Sora to return to his seat as he walked down the classroom's seats, making subtle movements of his hands as he spoke, "there are many more human elements that can manipulate Spiritual Energy in many different ways, and use different names depending on the cultures they are within. Those of the Northern Continent harness their Spirit Energy in what they call Ki, to augment their bodies through rigorous training of their bodies and mental discipline. Those of the Western Continent use Spirit Energy to weave and manipulate Spirit Energy in three different forms, calling Spirit Energy Chakra, and can weave complex and incredible techniques of many sorts. Even those from other planets use Spirit Energy in a way that can be used to push a normal human body pass the limits set down before them. "What the Quincies use, however, is called Blut. You see, humans who use Spirit Energy around the atmosphere in perfect harmony with their own internal stores of Spiritual Power. Doing so, can allow them to strengthen either the density and reinforcement of cellular bonds from the blood vessels, or bolster physical force from the muscular structure of the human body, using two different systems of spirit networks to manage this. Oddly enough, this is a natural trait all humans possess, and monitors the intake of atmospheric and internal spirit energy to only allow one to flow one after another, but not simultaneously. And as pointed out, if both forms of Blut ''were to be used like the S.P.A.G, your own internal organs would implode and your blood vessels would burst from the simultaneous strain," Kakashi finished, sighing in finality as he looked down at Mikado with disappointment before turning to walk back to his desk. When Sora reached his seat, he promptly looked in the other direction, feeling quite irked at Mikado for treating yet another great teacher with such disrespect. He often wondered what went on in that pale-haired head of his, and why he couldn't just be nice to others he didn't know for a change... Mikado just smirked once again, leaning back in his chair, once again demonstrating that he couldn't have cared less what just transpired. "Ah dang, I have failed once again...Must've been a brain fart..." he commented quietly to himself, of which caused a few female students around him to giggle lightly. Seikō picked up her fan that was on her desk, opened it up and covered half of her face with it. "Mikado...you really do need a lesson on discipline, don't you?" The murderous (though comical) intent by Seikō was oozing out, and began to threaten the other students around them. "Tell me about it," Sora spoke aloud in a dry tone as he sideglances both Mikado and Seikō, "I have tried teaching him the meaning of that and it seems his brain turns off every time I mention it. He's officially a rebellious case, ''and ''a hopeless case..." "Now, to wrap things up, I'm going to hand out your pop quizzes. And don't worry, the only wrong answer is a sloppily written answer on this one," Kakashi said with a rejuvenated cheer in his voice, as he grabbed out a handful of quizzes, walking around to each of the students and began handing them stacks to pass to their classmates behind them and onwards, "I just want any expressive one page answer on each question. You'll be given the rest of the class time we have left to answer them. If you have any questions, please come to my desk and ask me in a lowered volume as to not disturb your classmates," Kakashi finished, and with that said, walked to his desk and sat down, picking up a notepad out of his briefcase and began writing a compilation of what he had learned from the more outstanding and peculiar students. ''"Oh this guy is such a treat." This entire time, past the carefree and smart-ass demeanor that he carried, Mikado was watching Kakashi very carefully. Even though the substitute was acting like any normal tool that he had seen in his position, something very odd was about his person, as if he wasn't who he was making himself out to be. He didn't like substitute teachers to begin with, as he found them all to be far too cheerful for their own good. With that in mind, he should dislike Kakashi just as equally...but there was that same feeling about him that make Mikado dislike him even more. "Pop Quizzes?" Seikō thought, as she groaned ever-so-slightly. "One page for every question? I hope there aren't too many..." Seikō looked at the paper, and her mouth nearly collapsed. "Five questions!? Five pages? Oh dear this will be a treat, won't it?" Seikō thought, picked up her pen and began writing as she needed. Sora blinked at how long the quizzes were, as well as how peculiarly short the teacher's demonstration of things most of the class should know at least the basics on. It confused him why such an incredibly enthusiastic and upbeat teacher, care so little about leaving a sizeable impact on the class other than his participation in their classroom. He shook this reverie off as he rapidly began to answer his questions with little to no problem. As the time passed by, eventually class was five minutes till the bell ringed, causing Kakashi to stand up at his desk and call out for quiz time to be over, "Please overturn all of your quizzes so I may collect them. Like I said, as long as you were present for class and had a clean descriptive answer for each question, you get an A+," he tried to assure the students. As he began collecting each of the quizzes, moving down each row, only momentarily pausing next to Sora, his eyes widening a fraction as he looked at the boy with perplexion. After he rubbed his fingers tentatively over the quiz paper, he nodded in thought and moved onto grasp Mikado's, once again furrowing his brows as he went over hidden thoughts within his head. When he turned to Seikō, he smiled and nodded to her, before he walked to the desk at the head of the class itself, piling up the papers into a neat stack before looking up to the clock expectantly for it to start the resounding sound of the end of class. Leaning back in his seat once again, Mikado simply sighed and put his hood up over his head once more. As far as he knew, he'd just failed this assigment, despite answering his questions honestly. Didn't matter to him, obviously, for today was just one of those days where he couldn't have cared less. Seikō stayed in her seat, thinking about the occurrences in class today. Things were going to become difficult to handle if her identity was revealed. So she kept calm, and had a small grin on her face, "Looks like I'll have to start being cautious, for once."